Superheroes come in different shapes and sizes and have different superpowers. You can incite quite an argument with avid fans as to which hero is the best, which power is better to have and why, and the value of cape versus no cape. Regardless, these are the ones you call when there is trouble and you need help. Any foe, any situation, any time, they will come to save the day.
I want to tell you a bit about MY superhero. She has been saving my days since my inception…or conception, if you will. Now, trying to list all the things she does, has done, and can do is impossible, so I won’t try. But I can tell you about what drives her. It is a passionate love for the Ultimate Superhero, Jesus Christ. She emulates Him so well that you feel closer to Him by just being around her.
Let me tell you a little about my Mama. Even at the mention of her name, I feel like there should be a trumpet fanfare and a huge firework display. She is that incredible. This woman has an uncanny way of boosting you up, no matter how low you seem to stoop, and I have managed some really low stooping. She gives you the benefit of the doubt, even when you don’t deserve it. She believes in you when you don’t believe in yourself. She can, without judgment, gently encourage you and remind you of your potential when you are not meeting it. She makes the victories in your life earth-shattering accomplishments and celebrates them all – even if you never saw the thing as a victory. And she prays. Man, does she pray! You can feel your hair move because the Spirit of the Lord is right there moving around while she pours out her praise, thanks, and requests to the One she loves more than her own life.
The most incredible superpower that she possesses, however, is that she manages to forgive offenses WHILE you are committing them. Oh, she feels the hurt, but she responds with grace. I have been disrespectful and unkind and selfish and careless toward her and she did not receive me any differently. There have been important treasures that I have defaced, lost, and/or broken, including her heart, that never disrupted her love for me. I have lied to her face when she knew it and yet she loved me through it.
I could go on, but this is not about my true confessions, but rather to point to the deep well of her love, because she draws from that of her Savior. Only Jesus, living large in someone, enables this redemptive behavior to sweep over them and therefore those in their lives.
While Jesus was hanging on the cross, paying for all of the things that we have done and failed to do, He said, “Father, forgive them.” (Luke 23:34)
Romans 5:8 says that “God demonstrates His own love for us in this: WHILE we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (emphasis mine) He didn’t wait for us to be respectful to Him, to be appreciative to Him for all that He did and was doing for us, to joyfully embrace the truth of who He is – rather, He died for us, so that all of that junk could be forgiven. We can come to Him in the midst of our brokenness and enjoy the security of a personal, intimate, relationship with Him.
Jesus waits for us to open the door of our hearts so He can come in and we can have incredible fellowship together. (Revelation 3:20) This is just like that person in your life who gets busy preparing when they know you are coming, and then lovingly welcomes and celebrates you. Run into the arms of Jesus! He is your Superhero. In any situation, any time, He is there to save you!
